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UNIVERSITY OF CEYLON REVIEW

ending in a fortuitous landfall on an auspicious day at the hitherto unknown and rich island of Ceylon. One of these legendary versions related by Sinhalese Naval Power Fa Hsicn ' implies a progressive colonisation and is the least unreal of these stories, all of which are fabulous and were embellished with miraculous URING a period whose beginning is uncertain but whose termi- and supernatural elements when they came to be written many centuries nation may be placed, approximately, towards the end of the 4th later. What we may safely assume is that this was no haphazard adventure -D century B.C., Ceylon was colonised by Indo-Aryan mariners and but that the first settlement of Indo-Aryans, who were an agricultural eJ~ligrants who sailed from the deltas of the Indus and the Ganges, the community, was an organised expedition to a known land, that regular ci:rliest arrivals being those who came from. north-western India. Before communication was maintained thereafter with the homeland, and that tVIey established settlements in Ceylon, these mariners, whose business was the success of the pioneer settlement encouraged further waves of emigrants ~rade, had doubtless made several coastal voyages to this Island and carried to follow. The distance by sea was about 1,500 miles and none but intrepid '(back its products, or the profits from those products, to their homelands. seamen in sea-worthy ships could have accomplished this succession of ~ln B.C. 325, Oncsicritus, the chief pilot of Alexander the Great, was told outward and return voyages. tby the seafaring people of the Indus delta, who had long been acquainted The background of the Indo-Aryan settlers in Ceylon was, therefore, vvith Ceylon, about the situation, the surroundings and the products of one of expertness in sea faring, namely, in the building of sea-going vessels, .chc Island. It is probable that the Indo-Aryans first learned of Ceylon the efficient management and navigation of them on the ocean, the ability fro111South Indian sailors, with whom they must necessarily have made to make voyage of many days duration, and a knowledge of winds and earlier contacts and who, it is reasonable to suppose, could not have been I.i currents : concomitantly, they would have been equally expert in the ignorant of the existence of their large, island neighbour. In abandoning ~ their homelands and journeying to settle in far-distant Ceylon, the southern- lesser skills of building and operating smaller craft for the Ceylon pearl most limit of their then known world, the first Indo-Aryan emigrants and chank fisheries and of boats for the catching of fish for food. (A fish took a step which was perhaps not irrevocable because the ships they was the distinctive emblem of the independent dynasty of Ga/1/(/(1IS who travelled in could have taken them back if the enterprise failed. Prominent, ruled over south-eastern Ceylon but lost their authority early in the 2nd probably first, among the reasons which urged them to choose Ceylon century B.C.)2. Sea faring, in every aspect of its activities, was the forte for their new settlement would have been a reliance, if not a sense of assu- of these earliest colonists of Ceylon and should have been the inherited rance, that they would not encounter resistance which they could not skill of their descendants, the Sinhalese. In the reign of Devanarnpiya overcome from the peoples, whoever they were, who then inhabited Tissa (B.C. 246-206) the Sinhalese were still making long voyages because Ceylon, as well as from others, like themselves, who were trading with the king's envoys sailed to the Ganges and back with gifts fot the Mauryan the Island. A second vital consideration would have been the greater emperor, Asoka, and they repeated the double jcurncy in the following material gains that would accrue to them from. the known riches of the year. The existence of active communication between Ceylon and the new territory in pearls, precious stones and chanks : possibly, they were Mamyan empire (Asoka mentions Ceylon in his edicts) can scarcely be also aware of additional sources of wealth in ivory, elephants, tortoise doubted. The return from voyages abroad, in one day, of seven ships shell and spices. A third important factor on which they would' have to a port in Rohana laden with valuable cargoes, is recorded in a semi- relied would have been an abundance of water and cultivable land on which legendary story of the early 2nd century B.C.3 they could raise crops for their sustenance. !. 1. Fa Hsien's travels, H. A. Giles, London, 1953. The Vijaya legend of the Ceylon Chronicles (itself a combination of . 2. C. J. S. (G). u 99, 100, 175. 176 ; Sir Paul Pieris Felicitation Volume, 66, 67. 3. M 11.20-39: 18.6-8: 19.1-8 : 22.60. Either the Sinhalese had 110 knowledge of the currents various other legends) describes a voyage at the mercy of winds and currents . on th~ western coast of Ceylon or they had lost that knowledge when the story of VHlaradevi came to I ..•. : be Wtltten. It is said that she was cast adrift on the sea near the mouth of the Kalani River and that N"tc.- The word" navy" is not used ill its modern sense of warships exclusively. In ancient times, the vessel was carried to a landing place in Ruhuna. This is impossible because the current is northward the merchant ship and the fighting ship were one. In Elizabethan England of the 16th century, ;,anthd not southward, and it is this northward current which accounts for the pattern of the lagoons 011 \ , .. e West coast. the" Navy" meant" all English ships and all English seamen." ~ 78 79 SINHALESE NAVAL POWER UNIVERSITY OF CEYLON REVIEW

Thereafter, Sinhalese sea power appears to have suffered eclipse. In volent rulers, in marked contrast to later Tamil conquerors, and this benign the 3rd century B.C. and earlier there was active maritime trade between foreign rule is consistent with a policy of achiecving commercial control and at the same time giving every encouragement to the subject people to the Arabs and the Indians. Then, ill the 2nd century B.C., the Greeks began to cut out the Arab intermediaries and to make coastwise expeditions increase their production of and profits from thrat icles of commerce. The themselves to India. The direct dealing stimulated trade between the final phase in the subjection of Sinhalese sea power, it may be conjectured, West and India. The South Indian ports, too, began to be visited with was the paI.lQ.yanconquest in the reign of Vattagamani Abhaya early in the increasing frequency by Western ships. A trade boom had begun. Great 1st century B.C. To this time may be assigned the in scriptions at the capital, opportunities for acquiring wealth by the sale of the products of South Anuradliapura, of a guild or corporation of Tamil householders whose India and Ceylon to these Western merchants presented themselves, and leader was a ship's captain.> doubtless excited the cupidity of the rulers and governing classes of these The collapse of Sinhalese sea power and the capture of Ceylon's external regions. Early in the 1st century B.C., the great discovery was made of trade by Tamil intermediaries were largely discounted about the year 125 the use of the monsoons to sail direct across the Indian Ocean, and Greek when Roman ships began to sail into Ceylon harbours and to deal directly and Roman ships came with regularity and in much greater numbers to with the Sinhalese. Chinese ships were also trading direct with the South Indian harbours. The products of Ceylon were obtained by the Sinhalese at this time and Ceylon became eventually the entrepot of trade Romans in South Indian ports to which they were conveyed in South Indian in the Indian Ocean. A resuscitation of Sinhalese sea power was no longer ships. During the period of about two and a half centuries preceding the essential solely in her trade interests, because the Romans and the Chinese second decade of the 2nd century A.C. (when Roman ships began to make would have seen to it that their direct dealings with Ceylon were not regular visits to Ceylon and deal direct with the Sinhalese), the Sinhalese interfered with by the Tamil navies : and the Sinhalese had no aggressive had only an indirect share in the flourishing trade with the West and were intentions nor any desire to extend their territory overseas. Moreover, dependent on South Indian shipping and ~ntermediaries for the transport the ancient sea faring skill of the Sinhalese had been lost for over 200 years and marketing of their valuable merchandise." and now survived as a memory, while the Tamils were actively engaged during that period in seaborne activities and had attained a high level of This loss, in the second half of the 2nd century B.C., of their sea power efficiency which they never lost thereafter. 6 which the Sinhalese had previously possessed in a high degree becomes, therefore, a very significant event in the early history of Ceylon. The The Ciilaval'nsa states that Mcggallana I (491-509) "by instituting only apparent reason for it is that the vast, new opportunities for highly guards for the sea-coast, freed the Island frem danger."7 It may be that profitable trade created by the advent of Western ships and merchants in this statement is to be perceived the beginning of the revival of Sinhalese into South Indian waters led to a conflict between the Tamils and the sea power, for it did revive and became powerful once again in the reign Sinhalese for the control of Ceylon's lucrative export trade in those seas. of Parakkamabahu I in the second half of the 12th century. In the 3rd, The Tamils were numerically stronger than the Sinhalese but were probably 5th and 7th centuries, particularly in the 7th century, Sinhalese princes with less skilled in seafaring, although it is very likely that they had greatly pretensions or claims to the throne crossed to South India and returned increased their efficiency since the days when they bad stood aside and with Tamil mercenaries to wage war against the ruling monarch. Very allowed the Indo-Aryans to occupy Ceylon and acquire its riches. In probably these Tamil troops were transported in Tamil ships. The the struggle for command of the sea which followed, the Sinhalese were Chronicles say nothing of sea fights on these occasions nor of any attempted vanquished. The invasions and conquests of Ceylon which took place invasions being repulsed on the seas : the decisive contests were always early in the 2nd century B.C., first by the Damilas, Sena and Gutthaka, on land. The silence of the Chronicles is not, however, sufficient ground who are described as the SOilS of a ship's captain who brought horses to for a conclusion that there were no naval encounters: it may well be that Ceylon, and soon afterwards by the Damila, Elara, appear to have bene 5. J. R. A. S. (c. B.), xxxv, 54. the most crucial phases of this struggle. All three are described as bene- 6. The theory of a struggle for sea power between the Sinhalese and the Tamils in the 2nd and 1st centuries B.C. and the victory of the Tamils is the outcome of a stimulating discussion with Mr. B. J. Perera. 4. "The Commerce between the Roman Empire and India," by E. H. Warmington, Cambridge, 7. Cui. 39.57. 1928; "Arab Seafaring in the Indian Ocean," by G. F. Hourani, Princeton, 1951. 81 80

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SINHALESE NAVAL POWER UNIVERSITY OF CEYLON REViEW ~~. attempted invasions which were beaten off at sea were not recorded. We do not know the extent of the contribution of the Sinhalese navy to Manavamma (684-718), who put an end to civil war, secured the throne this successful resistance. with the aid of a Pallava invasion force, given him by the Pallava king, The growth of Sinhalese sea power would undoubtedly ha vc suffered which was conveyed across the seas in Pallava ships. Man y of these a set-back during the Cola occupation from 993 to 1070. It would appear, Pallavas settled in Ceylon and examples still survive of their characteristic however, that a certain number of Sinhalese ships made good their escape art and architecture. It is probable that the resumption of sea faring by . from the northern ports to ports in Rohana, because three of the princes the Sinhalese was given a powerful impetus at this time under Pallava who ruled Rohana from 1()29 to 1050 came from overseas and maintained guidance. overseas contacts; while Vijayabahu, who became ruler of the principality After the Pandyan conquest of 429 to 455, Ceylon was not invaded in 1055, was able to engage in maritime commerce with Burma.tv The by the Tamils until the reign of Sena I (833-853), a period of nearly four strategy of blockade could not havc been unknown, and the distances to centuries. The earlier conquest exposed the vulnerability of Ceylon frorn her be covered by the Co!a navy from their Ceylon bases to blockade the lack of naval forces, and we have seen that remedial measures were initiated ports of Rohana were comparatively short: nevertheless, the Colas were by Moggallana I at the end of the 5th century. The naval build-up was not successful in preventing Vijayabahu's foreign trade. In Vijayabahu's apparently inadequate to resist the Pandyan invasion in the reign of Sena I, fmal, successful campaign to expel the Colas, the principal objective of and this weakness appears to have been realised because it is stated that this the western column of his two-pronged attack was the great seaport of king's successor, Sena II (853-885), " set up guards against every danger" Mahatittha (modern Mantai) and it is likcl y that with the capture of this and" made the Island hard to subdue by thc foc."8 The" foe" in this harbour several Cola ships fell into his hands, together, probably, with context means the Tamil enemy in South India, and the measures of security the Sinhalese vessels which the Colas Were then using. The main purpose taken to render the Island" hard to subdue" must have included defence in capturing Mahatittha before the attack on Polonnaruva was delivered on the sea as well as on the invasion coast. The strengthening of sea power was to prevent the Colas from escaping by sea to their homeland and to undertaken after the second Pandyan invasion was completed rapidly and ensure that they could not be supplied or reinforced: a secondary purpose efficiently, because Sena II was able to invade South India in 862. may have been to capture their shipping. Ceylon emerged from the In 862 and again in 915 Sinhalese expeditionary forces crossed the Cola conquest with a depleted and not a shattered navy. After Vija ya- \ bahu's victory, he re-established overseas relations with Kaliliga and Burma, \ seas to the Pandyan kingdom. The first of these landings in Pandya was If"' " an invasion whose purpose was to dethrone the Pandyan king and replace and also made preparations at two seaports to embark an expeditionary him on the throne by a Pandyan prince who had sought the aid of the , force upon an invasion of the Cola kingdom. He could not, therefore, have lacked naval resources. I I Sinhalese monarch, while on the second occasion the Sinhalese army fought as an ally of the Pal)~yan army against the Colas. It could be j Save for an abortive attempt at conquest by an iu vader (Viradeva of assumed that on both occasions the Pandyans would have given all the Palandipa) whose identity is obscurc.r? Ceylon was free of external attack naval assistance they could to ensure the safc transporation of the Sinhalese for a century following the expulsion of the Colas. For some years there forces to Pandyan soil. There is ground for assuming, also, that Sinhalese was a. disastrous civil war which impoverished the country, but with the sea power had now reached a stage when their navy was capable of playing ,. accession of Parakkamabahu as ruler of Dakkhil).adesa, an era of great an effective part in invasion operations. In the reign of Mahinda IV , , .;.pr?sp.erity was inaugurated. He increased the money resources of his (956-972), attempts to conquer Ceylon were made by the Rastrakiita I ;:~:'::.'":. pnncIp~ltty by exporting precious stoncs.t ' The ports available to him king, Krsna III, and the Cola monarch, Sundara Cola : both these rulers I'..;'.;\f',at that orne would have been the havens and anchorages between the month appear to have invaded the northern part of Ceylon and to have been ; ',:;;~~Ct:"of, the Kala Oya and Kalutara. (Colombo was already a seaport in the foiled in their plans for the conquest of the Island by the Sinhalese king.9 ~&~;-:-io·-.-C-uI-.-5-8.-8~-10. 11. CuI. 59. 29, 46: 60. 5, 6, 34. 8. CuI. 51. 49-50. 12. CuI. 61. 36-47. 9. E. Z. V. 107, 108. 13. CuI. 69. 33.

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10th century. Valigama in Matara district was also a flourishing port and countries, between which there had long subsisted strong ties of friendship there were many merchants there" to whom their life and their money and cordial trade relations, is stated ill detail in the Ciilavamsa.t» In brief, were dear," but Parakkamabahu exercised no authority over it.)!" the Burmese king, Alaungsithu, grown haughty and intolerant in old age, impeded and put a stop to the trade of Sinhalese merchants, especially The first record in the Chronicles of a sea fight occurs ill the course the trade in elephants. He raised the prices of elephants to prohibitive of the narrative relating to the war between Parnkkamabahu ofDakkhi1).adesa levels, refused to make the customary exchanges, and then seized and and Gajabahu of Rajaranha. It has to be borne in mind, however, that imprisoned a group of Sinhalese merchants and confiscated their wares much of the Ciilavatnsa account of Parakkamabahu is pure panegyric : and their ships. Two Sinhalese envoys were sent back to Ceylon in a there is a great deal of adulation and exaggeration, and successful skirmishes leaking vessel. On a later occasion he accepted payment from Sinhalese are made to appear as major victories. In the two naval engagements merchants for elephants and then refused to deliver them. The final described, " many hundreds of ships" are said to have participated and act of aggression was the seizure of a Sinhalese princess on her way to " many thousands of men" to have fallen: this description is not to be Kamboja (Western Siam). The Sinhalese king resolved to make war taken literally. The fights were, in fact, a contest for the mastery of the and put in hand preparations for an invasion of Burma. The building of Pearl Banks off the north-western coast. In the first conflict the Malaya- a fleet of vessels of various kinds was begun and "now all the country rayara, a commander of Parakkamabahu, advanced from Valikakhetta round about the coast was one great workshop occupied with the building (identified by Codrington with modern Vellavcla, near Battulu Oya) of the ships." The work of shipbuilding was completed in five months and captured Gajabahu's fortress at Mallavalana, a place in the vicinity of and the fleet assembled at the port ofPallavavatika (identified by Codrington Puttalam or Kalpitiya. He then embarked his troops on ships and sailed as Palvakki, about 24 miles northward of Trincomalee). The overall to Muttakara (the Pearl Banks) where Gajabahu's naval forces, who were Commander of the entire naval and military force was the Damiladhikarin in possession, offered resistance. The Chronicle says that he twice engaged Adicca, a dignitary whose peace-time duties were connected with the Gajabahu's ships and put them to flight, but it is clear from the sequel State Treasury, and next in command under him was the Nagaragiri that he failed to wrest the control of the Pearl Banks because shortly after- Kitti (called Kit Nuvaragal in the Devanagala inscription). The fleet, wards Parakkamabahu had to despatch another general to accomplish this it is stated, was provisioned with supplies to last one year. "Now when task. This general, the Nagaragiri Mahinda, followed the same plan. this assemblage of ships all at the same time sailed forth in the midst of the He captured Mallavalana (which had been retaken by Gajabahu's forces), ocean it looked like a swimming island." Rough seas and adverse winds put to sea with his troops, fought a victorious naval action against G~abahu's were encountered on the voyage and the ships became separated (a not ships and secured the control of the Pearl Banks: to consolidate and hold uncommon event in the marine history of sailing ships). Some sank and his gains, he built a fortress at the place named Pilavasu and garrisoned it. I 5 others drifted to foreign shores. One ship made land at Kakadipa (" Crow's Thus Parakkamabahu deprived his opponent of one of the main sources of Island "), probably one of the Andaman Islands, and the troops on board money revenue from external trade, and doubtless exploited that success captured several of the inhabitants and brought them to Ceylon as prisoners. Five ships under the command of the Nagaragiri Kitti entered the port by exporting pearls in addition to precious stones. of Kusumiya (Bassein), where the troops landed, defeated the Burmese Parakkarnabahu united the whole of Ceylon into one kingdom in forces who opposed them and laid waste the surrounding countryside. 1153. He certainly raised the military might of Ceylon to a level which The Damiladhikarin Adicca landed at Papphalama and advanced and it had never attained before, and his naval power was considerable, . captured the town of Ukkama : it is claimed that his troops slew king enabling him to carry out invasions of Burma and South India. The Alaungsithu but this claim is not supported by the Burmese accounts of attack on Burma should more accurately be described as a massive, punitive the death of their king. The Burmese now sent envoys to Ceylon to make raid rather than an attempt at conquest, but it was a naval enterprise of a ~eaty with the Sinhalese king: whether these envoys preceded or accorn- some magnitude. The provocation for the conflict between the two pained or followed the Sinhalese ships on their return journey is not dis- 14. CuI. 75. 45, 46. 16. CuI. 76. 1-75. 15. CuI. 70. 60-65, 89-93. . ~~~> 84 85 SINHALESE NAVAL POWER UNIVERSITY OF CEYLON REVIEW closed. The CTi/aLJaiitsa account of the capture of Kusumiya by the Nagara- but it may be mentioned that further, important use was made of the giri Kitti and the restoration of peace by a treaty negotiated by Burmese Sinhalese navy to bring to Ceylon numerous Tamil prisoners of war envoys is confirmed by the Devanagala inscription!" of Parakkarnabahu I, captured by the Scnapati Lankapura as well as to reinforce the general with dated in the year 1165, recording a grant of land to Kit Nuvaragal for his a large contingent of fresh troops at a crucial stage in his campaign. The services in the Burma campaign. Ciilavamsa ends its account of the Pal)<;lyaninvasion abruptly but on a ncte If the Oi/al)milSa narrative is construed literally, it would appear that of victory.tf From the Cola inscriptions we know that the actual termi- only six troop-carrying Sinhalese ships reached Burma, the rest of the nation of this particular campaign was the defeat of the Sinhalese invading fleet having been scattered by the storms encountered at sea; and the forces and the capture and decapitation of Senapati Lankapura and the other submission of the Burmese, which is said to have followed upon the Sinhalese generals after the capture of Madhura by them and a probably victories gained by the troops from these six ships, can only be explained imprudent attempt to invade the Cola kingdom which brought massive either by a lamentable state of unpreparedness for defence in the Burmese retaliation from the Colas. But this was not the end of Parakkamabahu's kingdom or by divided loyalties within it ~nd the adherence of powerful intervention in the affairs of Pandya, The Pandyan rulers were" time- factions, actively 01 passively, on the side of the Sinhalese. On the other servers who changed sides according to their estimates of their own immedi- hand, it is not improbable that the Ciilavnmsa story of the subjugation ate interests." But Parakkamabahu's policy was consistent: he aligned of a fereign kingdom by six of Parakkamabahu's ships is just another himself with any Pal)~yan prince who was prepared to make war against laudatory exaggeration of the marvellous power of its hero's arms. the Colas and in pursuance of this policy it happened that he subsequently supported princes whom he had previously fought against. Parakkarnabahu's next military expedition across the seas was the invasion of Pandya, The Cola power was now declining, but it was not A' Cola epigraph of 1178 (approximately) states that news was received weak. In a succession dispute which arose in Pandya, the ruler, Parakkarna, in the Cola kingdom that the Sinhalese king, Parakkamabahu, was building was besieged in his capital, Madliura, by the claimant, prince Kulasckhara : ships and assembling troops at Oratturai (Kayts), Pulaicceri, Matottam Parakkama appealed to the Sinhalese for armed assistance, while Kula- (Mantai), Vallikamam (Valikamarn), Mattival (Manuvil) and other places sekhara appealed to the Colas. Parakkamabahu of Ceylon responded in order to make a fresh invasion of South India: to forestall this, the Cola to the Pandyan king's call and began to assemble at the seaport, Mahatittha, king organised a counter-expedition, placing at its head prince Srivallabha ships and troc ps under the command of the Scnapati Lankapura : but of Ceylon, a nephew. of king Parakkamabahu, who was then a refugee before the expedition was ready to sail, news was received that Kulasekhara in the Cola COlmtry : this expedition landed in Ceylon, captured several had captured Madhura and slain Parakkama Pandya and his wife and places, including Pulaiccsri and Matottarn, seized many elephants, deva- children. The Sinhalese king repeated his orders to the Senapati Lankapura stated a considerable area ofland, killed or took captive some of the Sinhalese to proceed with the invasion, depose Kulasekhara and consecrate as king chieftains of the locality, and returned to the Cola kingdcm with the a scion of the house of the dead Pandyan king. The fleet with the troops captured booty. Parakkamabahu's invasion plans were thereby frustrated. Reading between the lines, we may infer that the placing of a Sinhalese 011 board thereupon set sail, the pre-selected landing place bcing the road- stead of Taladilla on the Pandyan coast. Since the ships could not stand prince at the head of this Cola expedition was, if not an attempt to dethrone in close to the shore at Taladilla, a large number of small boats was taken, Parakkamabahu, an endeavour to secure a foothold in the northern part probably in tow as well as shmg over the sides, to transport the troops of Ceylon with a view to extending the scope of the operations later : this plan was frustrated by Parakkamabahu. from the ships to shore. The crossing of the sea from Mahatittha to Taladilla took about 24 hours, a day and a night, and the landing was made Sinhalese troops again crossed to Pandya about 1186 and fought on successfully, as planned, in the face of Pandyan opposition: Taladilla was the side of the Pandyan faction which was at war with the Colas. A Cola captured and established as a beachhead. The further course of the fighting, inscription claims that the Cola soldiers" cut off the noses of the Sing ala which was on land, is not relevant to this account of naval operations, troops who rushed into the sea." Parakkamabahu died in 1186. His

17. E. Z. III. 312-325. 18. CuI. 76.76-334: 77. 1-103.

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repeated interventions in Pandyan affairs would have imposed upon his by Tamil intermediaries to Western merchants; perhaps, only navy the tasks of transporting the expeditionary forces and the reinforce- Chinese ships had regular dealings in a small way direct with the ments sent from time to time, supplying and provisioning these forces, Sinhalese. bringing back the wounded and prisoners, maintaining uninterrupted (3) 125 A.C. to the 4th century.-Roman and Chinese ships were sea communication, and, above all, preventing the Cola navy from interfe- calling regularly and in increasing numbers at the ports of Ceylon ring with the seaborne operations. There is no reason to doubt that it and dealing direct with the Sinhalese, eliminating the Tamil was capable of performing these tasks, and did perform them, successfully. intermediaries, and this direct trade expanded to such dimensions Nissanka Malla (1187-1196), in more than one of his vainglorious that Ceylon became the entrepot of trade in the Indian Ocean ; inscriptions, claims to have invaded South India, received tribute from the necessity for a Sinhalese navy for protection of trade or for Pat:l9ya and Cola without fighting and, returned to Ceylon with captives. defence or for territorial expansion (which the Sinhalese never The presence of an inscription of this king at Ramesvaram is evidence contemplated) did not exist. that he did cross to the Indian mainland with an army, but the rest of his (4) The 5th cetttury.-The Pandyan conquest emphasised the necessity claims receive no corroboration from any source. It is probable that he for a revival of Sinhalese naval power, and the first steps were continued the policy of Parakkamabahu I of sending Sinhalese troops to taken by Moggallana I. Pat:l9ya to aid the Pandyans against the Colas. (5) The 7th and 8th centuries.-Under Pallava guidance the resusci- After the death of Nissanka MalIa, the Sinhalese kingdom of Polon- tation of Sinhalese sea power made further progress. naruva moved rapidly to its collapse. Civil wars and invasions succeeded (6) The 9th and 10th centurjes.-After the Pandyan invasion in the each other. There were at least four Cola invasions between 1196 and reign ofSena I, the Sinhalese naval build-up was greatly expedited, 1210, and these were followed by a Pat:l9y~n conquest from 1211 to 1214. and in 862 and 915 the Sinhalese navy was capable of transporting In these encounters the military power of the Sinhalese on land and sea Sinhalese armies of invasion to Pandya and maintaining those was severely shaken: i•.was finally smashed in the second and third quarters armies in the invaded territory. of the 13th century by the conquests of the Kaliliga, Magha, and the (7) The 11th century.-Sinhalese sea power was not seriously incapa- Javanese, Candabhanu.t? citated during the Cola conquest, and recovered rapidly after the The naval history of ancient Ceylon may, therefore, be briefly sum- expulsion of the Colas. marised as follows :- (8) The 12th centllry.-Sinhalese naval power reached its peak, enabling (1) Up to 3rd B.C.-Expert skill and a great tradition in seafaring; Parakkarnabahu to carry out an invasion of Burma and to send many voyages were made to and from the deltas of the Indus and a succession of expeditionary forces to South India; the Sinhalese the Ganges ; as sailors the Sinhalese were supreme in the South navy was able to keep the Cola navy in check. Indian seas. i. (9) The 13th century.-Destruction of the naval and military power (2) 2nd and 1st centuries B.C. and lip to about the year 125.-Rapidly of the Sinhalese. increasing commerce between the West (Greeks and Romans) Neither the name nor the title of a Sinhalese naval commander, cor- and South India led to a struggle between the Tamils and .thc responding in rank to an Admiral, is mentioned in the Ceylon Chronicles. Sinhalese for the mastery of the South Indian seas in order to gain 4~'('; ./:~"\., There was, in fact, no such post, because the ships were not exclusively control of Ceylon's rich export trade, and in this struggle Sinhalese ";, .. warships and for the greater part of the time were employed as merchant- sea power was vanquished in the 2nd century B.C. ; thereafter, the men: moreover, many of them were privately owned, though the king products of Ceylon were transported to and sold in Tamil ports i. had, no doubt, the power to requisition them for war service whenever ---'--- 19. For the COla inscriptions, see" The Co!as," by K. A. Nilakanta Sastri, 366-372, 378-385, to" necessary. In every Sinhalese expedition overseas, the overall commander 412, 423, 424 ; ].R.A.S. (C.B.), XXXl, 384-387. For Nisssanka Malla and his successors, see Cui. ~e ships and the troops was always the commander of the land forces : 80.1-80 : 81, 1-21 : 82.1-27: 83.1-48; E.Z. n. 190-192 : IV 82-88: V. 152-158, 170-173 ;].R.A.S. \~, of C.B.), New Series, V. 173-182. if.: but tn no instance is the king or a prince mentioned as having left Ceylon

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in command of an expeditionary force. Sinhalese kings and princes The Srivijaya kingdom of South-cast Asia possessed immense sea commanded troops in the field within their own kingdom, but not abroad. power: they colonised Madagascar and their only competitors in the Of naval strategy and tactics the Chronicles say practically nothing. Indian seas were the Colas. The conquest of Pandya, Ceylon's closest No doubt, Indian methods and techniques were borrowed, but there again neighbour 011 the Indian continent, by the warrior Cola king, Parantaka I (907-955), and the rapid expansion of the might of Cola arms, both on we know almost nothing of Indian naval warfare. land and sea, would have made it very evident to the Sinhalese that alliances with other kingdoms on the Indian mainland who were enemies of the POSTSCRIPT Colas would be oflittle avail in averting their own, impending subjugation. The Sinhalese, therefore, looked eastward to Srivijaya, with its great Professor Paranavitana's theory, ftrst propounded at the Dambadeniya naval resources, for the aid they would need, and the marriage of Mahinda Cultural Conference on August 23, 1958, that Magha, and by implication, IV to a princess of the Kalinga royal house of that kingdom appears to presumably all the other Kalinga kings of Ceylon, were members of the have been arranged with this political end in view. All the assistance Kalillga royal house of the Srivijaya kingdom of Malaya and Indonesia, which any kingdom on the Indian mainland could have given the Sinhalese has a vital bearing upon the history of Sinhalese sea power as well as resolves against the Colas would have been purely diversionary assistance which certain historical problems of the 10th to 13th centuties.w Mahinda IV could not be depended upon to be either well-timed or sufficiently massive; (956-972) was the first Sinhalese king to make a marriage alliance with none of these kingdoms was capable of reinforcing the Sinhalese army this Kalinga royal house of South-cast Asia, and the Culavamsa employs with troops transported across the ocean nor of breaking nor even seriously significant words in narrating the event:- "Although there was also impeding the Cola navy's command of the South Indian seas. The in Lanka a race of nobles, the ruler of men (Mahinda IV) had a princess only material aid that could benefit the Sinhalese was naval aid and the of the land of the ruler of Kalillga fetched and made her his first Mahesi. only power that could give that aid was the Buddhist kingdom of Srivijaya Of her were born two sons and a charming daughter. He made his sons in, South-east Asia ruled by the Kalitlga dynasty: without that aid a Cola Adipadas and his daughter a Queen : thus the Ruler found the royal house inv ...-sion and blockade of Ceylon would achieve complete success, both of the Sihalas.">' Mahinda V, son of Mahinda IV by the Kalinga Mahesi, in its military and economic aspects. describes himself in an inscription as "a pinnacle of the Kalinga royal housc."22 Vijayabahu I, after he restored Sinhalese sovereignty over The wise policy of Mahinda IV bore fruit. We have seen that during the Cola occupation of northern and north-central Ceylon, Vijayabahu Ceylon in 1070, married a Kaliliga princess as his second Mahcsi, and by of Rohana was able to engage in sea-borne commerce with further India her he had a SOil, Vikkamabahu, who also married a Kaliliga princess. in spite of the Cola blockade, and this external trade, which enabled him The grandmother of Parakkamabahu I (1153-1186) was the KaliJiga to build up his resources for ftghting the Colas, was doubtless facilitated, Mahesi of Vijayabahu I. Parakkamabahu's sister married a Kaliliga prince if not protected, by the Srivijaya navy. After his victory, Vijayabahu I and their son, Vijayabahu II, was nominated as Parakkamabahu's successor. had no lack of sea power. The ports on the eastern and southern coasts, Thereafter, the following kings of Ceylon were of pure Kalinga descent :- particularly Trincomalec, would have increased in importance after the Nissanka Malla (1187-1196) ; Virabahu (1196) ; Vikkamabahu III, also alliance with the Malays: we find Kotrhasara (modern Kottiyar, in the called Erapatta23 (1196) ; Co<;lagaliga (1197) ; Sahassamalla (1200-1202} ; Bay of Trincomalee)24 mentioned twice as the port of escape overseas Queen Kalyanavati, Mahesi of Nissanka Malla (1202-1210) ; Lokissara for defeated Sinhalese princes of Kalinga descent.t> and Valigama, in or Lokesvara (1210-1211) ; and finally Magha (1214-1239). Matara district, a flourishing seaport in the 12th century. ------20. The writer was aware earlier of Professor Paranavitana's views on this subject, but was pre- The naval might of the Sinhalese in the reign of Parakkamabahu I cluded from making use ofthcm till they were made public; That is the reason for introducing them now as a postscript. has already been described. There is little reason to doubt that here again 21. CuI. 54. 9-11. 22. E. Z. IV. 65. 24. The identification is by Professor Paranavitana. 23. B. Z. V. 161. 25. Cu\. 61. 43: 70. 305. 90 L. 91 ~.

~ } I SINHALESE NAVAL POWER

the Sinhalese owed much to the Malays, and it was probably this obligation that influenced the selection of Parakkamabahu's nephew, the son of a Kalinga prince, as his successor on the throne of Ceylon. Secular Fluctuations in the Rairifa11

c. W. NICHOLAS Climate if Colombo

INTRODUCTION

HE demonstration of short-period (decadaJ and pcly-decadal) climatic fluctuations using evidence from climatic 'indicators' Tsuch as glacier regimes, varve chronologies, tree-rings, lake-levels etc., has been substantiated by analyses of instrumentally recorded meteor- ological data. Such investigations, while being numerous from mid and high latitudes, are but meagre in respect of tropical areas. Perhaps the more notable recent studies of tropical secular changes are those for Mexico 1 and the more integrated studys covering the tropical area as a whole. The latter made yet another contribution.I attempting to bring out the relationship between the monsoonal circulation (with its incidental rainfall) and the zonal circulation. The rainfall data used in this study covers the period 1870-1952 with interruptions in 1936 and 1942. The site of the station-Colombo Fort W 54' N.1. ; 790 52' E.1.) has remained unchanged since 1870. But the rain-guage has been shifted twice; in 1936 it was moved from its roof-position to the ground and subsequently in November 1942 it -- was replaced on the roof. However, the gauge remained in the same position on the roof from 1870 to 1935 and would therefore present a homogenous record. In 1910 the headquarters of the Ceylon Meteor- ological Department was moved to a new site (the pesent Colombo Obser- vatory) a short distance away. Since 1911 observations were made from both sites up to the present day. A comparison of the 1911-1952 data of rainfall at both stations show (Fig. 2a) that though the amounts naturally differ (being lower at Colombo Fort in view of the elevated position of the gauge) the fluctuation-patterns are similar. A recent study+ using the , \ 1\1 roof-position gauge data for Bristol did not seem to affect the fluctuation- trends demonstrated for that region.

1. C. C. Wallen, •• Climatic Fluctuations in Mexico," ~e"gr. AI/II., 37 (1955), pp. 57-63. ~. E. B. Kraus, •• Secular Changes of Tropical Rainfall ""b::nes," QlIart. [our. R. Met. Soc., 81, (Apnl, 1955), pp. 198-210. 3. E. B. Kraus, •• Secular Changes of the Standing Circulation," ibid., 82 (July, 1956), pp. 289-300. ~. F. G. Hannell, •• Climatic Fluctuations in Bristol," Adv. Sci., XII, 48 (March, 1956), pp. 373-386.

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